How do you drive audio speakers?

Written by Lenny in Friday, May 08, 2009 under Engineering
Comments: 2

Q: I've found that you can't make sound come out of audio speakers by wiring them up to the leads of a guitar through an amplifying op-amp circuit.

I can wire the guitar jack up and plug that into an amplifier, and that works. But how do I power my own speakers?
I resent having my question called naïve. Anyone can buy an old amplifier; I'm trying to learn how to build one myself. God knows my university isn't going to teach me something even half as...

A: You can purchase power op-amps from Apex Microtechnology Corporation, 5980 N. Shannon, Road, Tucson, Arizona 85741-5230 or contact them by e-mail ProdLit@TeamApex.com. Their products work well but need careful application (sockets, heat-sinks, by-pass capacitors, etc.) which is explained in their product literature.

From the naivety of your question, it appears to me that you would be better served purchasing a new or used "guitar amp" and connecting that to your...

Comments: 2

mygif
billrussell42 Said in Friday, May 08, 2009

with a powerful amplifier.

Your op-amp circuit probably wasn't powerful enough. An opamp without any power transistors to boost it, can put out only a few milliwatts into a 4 ohm speaker.

.

mygif
Technobuff Said in Saturday, May 09, 2009

Provided your op amp circuit is capable of outputting enough power to drive a speaker, and was correctly made, you may need extra preamplification before it. It may not have enough gain, or is not a match to the guitar's output impedance.
Test it. Turn the gain right up without it connected to the guitar, and touch a finger to the tip of the guitar plug. You should be rewarded with a healthy "blurp". If so, inadequate gain or mismatch could be the problem.
If...

I am looking for a cable to connect from my dvd player/ tv to my audio speakers?

Written by dave | Thursday, May 17, 2007

Hi-Fi 42h

I want to connect my (dvd, xbox, and tv) audio to my speakers(klipsch thx two speakers with a subwoofer) they all use the same normal audio cables. What is the connector called and how much am I looking to spend?


A: They are called RCA plugs. The red and white ones are for the left and right and the yellow one is for video. Probably only about $10 or less unless you want the gold tipped ones which run about $20 and supposedly have better performance.

What do you think about Lightning Audio Speakers?

Written by flipthebird05 | Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Hi-Fi 42e

I'm looking at Lightning Audio speakers for my 2006 Ford Focus but don't know what I should do for a good setup. I'm looking for something good but cost efficient. Any ideas?


A: i have two 10 inch lightning audios in my truck and they sound real good and are cheap

What chemical is best to dissolve the adhesive used to secure magnets on audio speakers ?

Written by skubaduk | Sunday, June 03, 2007

Hi-Fi 42g

Magnets are sandwiched between 2 pieces of metal on the back ( base ) of audio speakers. What chemical is best to dissolve this adhesive so I can seperate the metal from the magnet ?
I have used Acetone, soaked for 24 hrs. - DID NOT LOOSEN.


A: The adhesive is usually epoxy. There are epoxy solvents but will cost more than the magnet is worth. Solvent will have a hard time soaking into the adhesive. You will have better luck using a chisel and just knocking off the magnet.